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Goldie's Shoreline Casino
One of the more popular poker destinations north of Seattle, Goldie's offers more experienced personnel than the typical Washington mini-casino, but is still a quite small poker room. As of June 2009, Goldie's is under new ownership. Due to disagreements with the new ownership, a large number of the poker room staff have left and joined the Hideaway across the street. Many of the players also left. It is not yet certain what the long-term implications are, but the short-term effect is that the poker room feels very empty. Games Limit hold 'em: * 3/6 with a full kill. Killer acts in turn. * 4/8 with a half kill may replace the 3/6 kill if there is interest. * 10/20, but only on weekend nights * Mon-Wed at 4:30, they hold a $1-$2 beginners game. Rake: 10% to $3 max, plus jackpot rake of $1-$2 depending on pot size. There are reports of the rake being capped at $2 for the 10/20, but I didn't see the game so don't know. It was definitely $3 for the 3/6 game I played on a Sunday in June 2006. Blinds: 1/3. Posting: New players need not post. Shuffling: All tables have standard Shufflemaster shuffling machines. Game Character: Players are noticeably better than the typical gamblers found in small mini-casinos: a fair amount of aggression in position, blind stealing, bluff raising, etc. There's still a selection of rocks and maniacs, but there are some interesting good players here as well. Wait Time: Can be quite long on occasion; other times you just step right up. Tends to be much longer for the kill game (or 4/8) than the vanilla 3/6. Tournaments * 7 days, 10:30am: NLHE $25+$5 (1000 chips), $10rb (500 chips), $10ao (500 chips). Free breakfast included (officially just eggs, hash browns and toast, but most waitresses will give you anything off the breakfast menu if they recognize you as a cash game player). $10 bounty on staff. * Tourney players start with 1000 chips and 5/10 blinds, blinds increasing every 12 minutes (10/20, 25/50 and then doubling each round). * Though the poker room is quiet on weekdays, expect about 25-45 people for the weekend tourneys. They run the tournament on up to 4 tables, typically two or three, with remaining competitors coming in as alternates as players get eliminated. Though some LAGs, rocks and even a few oafs (thanks to the low buy-in) populate the tournament, the competition is pretty stiff (though the re-buys and add-ons help with that) and the field often remains mostly intact through the first hour. * There is a monthly free roll tournament with no entrance fee and a $2000 pot (split 1000/500/300/140/60). Each regular tournament that a player places in the top 5 earns them points to the free roll (six minus their placing in points, so 5 for first, 4 for second, etc). The top twenty point totals get into the free roll. Jackpots and Promotions * Standard Washington Monte Carlo jackpots, plus extra jackpots for each color of a wheel flush, and a separate jackpot for ANY straight flush. The straight flush, wheel, and four-of-a-kind jackpots J and lower start at $50 and go up $50 a day until hit. The Q and higher four-of-a-kind and royal flush jackpots go up $100 a day, the latter often reaching several thousands of dollars. * Aces cracked wins $25, Mondays only. * High Hand jackpots: ** Sunday-Tuesday: $100. 12pm-2pm, then every hour after that until close. **Wednesday-Thursday: $300. Every two hours starting at 12pm. **Friday-Saturday: $500. Every two hours starting at 12pm. Atmosphere Goldie's has earned a reputation as a more serious poker hangout than most Washington mini-casinos, and therefore has attracted some of the better casual players in the area as well as some of the better dealers. Brush and between-duty dealers often play in the cash games, so signing up for the tables can be self-service. The poker area is a large, open room connected to the rest of the casino but clearly set apart, with its own exit door to the front parking lot (where you can step outside for a smoke if you like). The rest of the casino/restaurant is also very spacious, with a large casino area with blackjack, etc, a "pull tab" bar, as is ubiquitous in Washington, and a nice-sized and decent restaurant with a decent American menu and some Chinese/Korean dishes (see their website for their menu). A couple of smallish TV's are hung in the corners, but they aren't easy to see. Recently added a largish flat screen that the majority of players can see. Neighborhood: A busy business street, the casino is a bit hard to see if you're coming from the south. It's on the right side of the street and sneaks up on you behind some foliage. Parking: Plenty of parking: about 8 spaces in front, and a narrow driveway leads around to the back of the building where there's another dozen spaces or so. There's a large shared parking lot with the fitness club behind the casino that can accommodate several dozen cars. Tables and Chairs: 10-seat tables with extra-fluffy and slightly-worn felt and decent vinyl rail padding. The extra-soft felt causes chip stacks to sink into it a bit, which is annoying. Clean commit line. Chairs are fabulous and huge: wheeled, fully adjustable, no arms, super comfy. Service and Comps Frequent service from the restaurant and bar. Reasonably prompt and frequent service. You can order food from the menu (including the special "poker menu" hung on the wall) and have it delivered for you to eat at the table. Non-alcoholic drinks and food are comped while you are playing, alcoholic drinks are very cheap. Links, Notes, and Discussions * Nearest competitor is probably Club Hollywood Casino or Parkers Casino. * Visited by MarkT in Jun 2006. * Visited by Steven24o in Jan 2007. Discussion Threads: * Category:Casinos